psychics – La Vista Church of Christ

I miss the peace I got from astrology

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sun, 30 Mar 2025 02:32:10 +0000

Question:

Good day!

I wonder about your insight into what the Bible says about spiritual practices. Before I was a Christian, I was interested in many things, such as astrology, following moon cycles, manifestation, chakra healing, etc. I don’t practice these things anymore, but ever since I stopped, I have had no peace and feel anxious all the time. I sometimes get peace when I read the Bible, but most times it's not knowing what will happen next that causes me to be anxious.

Astrology appears to help you with knowing where to direct your energy in certain areas of your life. Without being too descriptive, having your fourth house in a certain sign means that you should behave like this in your home life, and that would make things flow better. Because it’s so unique to you, you would recognize how your natural behaviors adapt to this. So, say you were very bold in that area (by looking at your chart). It will help you be bold, and it will feel very natural. With Christianity, I’m noticing that you don’t have that peace of mind doing what you’re doing, and it creates more problems because you’re disconnected. I tried to make that as straightforward as possible.

Also, because of cultural differences, my community doesn’t understand my struggles. Practicing things like astrology and moon cycles gave me a good grip on what to do with my time and setting intentions throughout the year. It is very personalized, and I thought it helped before. I know that's not true, but I don’t have peace. I have blessings in my life for which I’m grateful. Still, I recognize nothing empowering to steward me properly, and that connects with a visual learner with a vivid imagination. Please help!

Answer:

People have long sought guidance from anywhere but the true source of knowledge. This is one reason various practices are condemned. "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD; and because of these detestable things the LORD your God will drive them out before you" (Deuteronomy 18:10-12). Despite their claims, they do not know the future. "You are wearied with your many counsels; let now the astrologers, those who prophesy by the stars, those who predict by the new moons, stand up and save you from what will come upon you. Behold, they have become like stubble, fire burns them; they cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame; there will be no coal to warm by nor a fire to sit before!" (Isaiah 47:13-14). Thus, astrology is a form of lying -- to yourself and others. They are popular because those who practice it tell people what they want to hear.

If you want goals, look to God's teachings to find things to improve and set goals for yourself. Perhaps I'll decide that this year, I will connect better with the shut-ins in the congregation. Next year, I'll work on making visitors feel more welcome. Or, I'll set a goal of inviting each family over for a meal during the year. There are thousands of things to be done to improve my life and the lives of my neighbors and brethren. You don't need fake guidance; you need a desire to serve.

"Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (I John 5:1-5).

Is energy healing a form of witchcraft?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 19:31:25 +0000

Question:

Does the work of even a God-believing energy healer fall under witchcraft or some other condemned practice?

Answer:

One definition of energy healing is "A form of complementary and alternative medicine based on the belief that a vital energy flows through the human body. The goal of energy healing is to balance the energy flow in the patient. It is used to reduce stress and anxiety and promote well-being" ["Energy Healing," Dictionary of Cancer Terms, National Cancer Institute].

According to the CDC, "stress is a culprit in many conditions, including nightmares and sleeping problems, worsening physical and mental conditions, body pain, skin rashes, stomach problems, and increased use of alcohol and other drugs" ["Coping with Stress," Mental Health, CDC, 25 April 2023].

Because of the trust and expectations of the person being treated, various techniques promoted as alternative medicine result in the person relaxing. The National Center for Complimentary and Integrative Health states: "There’s no scientific evidence supporting the existence of the energy field thought to play a role in Reiki." ["Reiki," NCCIH, December 2018]. Reiki is one form of energy healing. Thus, we start out with a dilemma. The very thing that claimed to be manipulated and healed is even provable to exist. However, it does promote relaxation, and this leads to better health ... sometimes. "Reiki hasn’t been clearly shown to be effective for any health-related purpose. It has been studied for a variety of conditions, including pain, anxiety, and depression, but most of the research has not been of high quality, and the results have been inconsistent" ["Reiki," NCCIH, December 2018].

This puts it on the level of witchcraft. People believe they have power, but that power cannot be measured or proven. It depends on people believing that it has power over their lives. It is good that it can cause people to relax, but the practitioners don't have any special abilities.

Why do I have a knack for noticing people’s emotions and helping them calm down?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 03:29:00 +0000

Question:

Hello!

I read an answer to an "empath" question. This has sparked another question within me. I have been a Christian and a member of the church of Christ for several years; however, I have a dilemma. I have always been able to "read emotions" and when I am around people who are feeling these strong emotions (whether good or bad) I tend to draw them away from the person. As an example I was with my friend at church one day when she came in and I could feel the fear rolling off of her in waves, my body's natural tendency was to "suck up the fear", I noticed her ease and she felt no more fear. She had explained later what it felt like: "One moment I thought I was drowning, and I knew I had to tell somebody, that's why I came to you. But once I walked over the fear vanished! It was as if I was never afraid..."

So if empaths are not real, claiming to be an empath is a lie, and a lie is a sin; what is the reasoning for what happens around me? I don't tell people about what actually is happening just for the reason that I do not want the attention taken from God, and I don't wish to be under Satan's influence. Can you further explain anything to me?

Thank you for your time.

Answer:

What everyone else would say is that you are simply a good listener. People are comfortable talking to you and in that way you share their burdens. "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2). To ascribe this to some type of power to absorb other people's feelings is false.

Does the Ouija board actually work?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 01:55:00 +0000

Question:

Does the Ouija board actually work?

Answer:

James Randi, a magician and fraud buster, points out that when blindfolded, Ouija board operators are unable to produce intelligible messages [James Randi, An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural]. Magicians Penn and Teller performed a similar demonstration in which the operators moved the planchette into what they thought were the positions of "yes" and "no" without knowing that the board was turned upside-down, which caused them to move the planchette into blank spaces on the board. What these prove is that the users of the board are actually producing the messages supposedly coming from the spirit world. American psychologist, Ray Hyman, noted, "honest, intelligent people can unconsciously engage in muscular activity that is consistent with their expectations." [Ideomotor phenomenon]. In other words, people's muscles react to their expectations without conscious thought.

My friend and I shared a dream. Does that mean we are telepathic?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 00:43:00 +0000

Question:

Last night, I and a close friend had exactly the same dream, we look on the Internet to find out what it meant. It said we telepathically connected. It also pointed out the words "devine world" I look it up and found out the devine world is also known as "limbo" the place you are before you are born and before you die, and said that we went there spiritually without us knowing. My date changed on my phone the day before to 16th April 2044, I went asleep just after midnight 17 April 2044 in which we supposed to have gone to the devine world. I looked up the date 17 April 2044 and it told me it was easter Sunday. Is this a sign of the day I'm going to die or another other sign?

Answer:

Can telepathy be real?

Telepathy has never been proven. Even if it did, that would mean you went into a "spiritual realm," transported to some random place people might call limbo. Fox News did an interesting article about scientists reading thoughts with electrodes. Actual thoughts are not being read, they are being guessed by watching brain activity. What God said remains true, "For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?" (I Corinthians 2:11). We can guess from expression, body language, and now watching electrical signals, but we still don't know the thoughts of people. By the way, the electrodes were needed because there isn't any detectable activity outside the skull.

Just because you find something on the Internet, it doesn't make it true. The Internet is merely a collection of what people wrote. It is foolish to believe every website we find that says what we want to hear. I imagine if I talked to your friend and you separately, I would learn your dreams were actually different in many ways. One way to test this is to have both of you write down what you remember without talking to each other. Then look at the differences. When you talk to someone before writing your story down, there is a tendency to let what others say influence you, adding their story to your own. Which you most likely did in this case. This is the same reason why police separate people when questioning them so people don't get influenced by other peoples' answers and change their own story.

Why do people have similar dreams?

Even my wife and I will dream of the same things, but this just means we have had some of the same experiences and are best friends. The longer we know each other, the more often we tend to dream about the same stuff. What is important to her is important to me all our likes and dislikes become quite similar along with wants and desires. The same thing usually happens with best friends. I can watch a movie and so can many people that I do not know and we all would have a good chance of having a similar type of dream, especially if it was a movie that made an impression. This is not telepathy; just your mind organizing your thoughts.

Is Limbo real?

Limbo is the creation of the Roman Catholics to explain what happens to children who aren't baptized into Catholicism. It is not biblical teaching. There is a place called Hades. For more information on that please see: When you die, do you go straight to heaven or hell? It's the waiting place of the dead for judgment day. This not what you described and it's not a place you would want to be if you are not a follower of God.

The idea of being alive before being born on earth isn't found in the Bible either.

Can a phone be changed while someone is asleep?

There are a variety of ways this could happen. Your cell phone could have malfunctioned. The nearest tower could have malfunctioned and sent the wrong date. Your phone could have been in a spot where it couldn't get a signal and so went to a default date. You could even have accidentally punched buttons while you slept. There is nothing miraculous about a phone getting the wrong date, and thus it is insignificant as an event.

Do we still see signs today?

Please read: Where do dreams of the future come from?

The Real Divine

In the history of man there have been many signs, wonders and miracles, even mind reading (only done by the Holy Spirit). (II Kings 5:26; Mathew 9:4; Mark 2:8; Acts 5:1-11).

A while back a question was answered by Jeffrey and me, "I think you are insulting God to believe everything written down the Bible," to a lady who did not like the truth of God. We gave her evidence in history, prophecy, science, and archaeology regarding the accuracy of the Bible, how it points to God, and how the Bible never has been proven wrong. As science grows and stuff is unearthed, it is generally found to support the Bible. Look at facts about God's word and His creation, and find out for yourself all the answers you need from the Creator of the universe. If you want answers, He has them. The question is: are you ready to know Him? Take a look at just how amazing God is.

If you want to know about the spiritual world and how God works, pick up a Bible. Start in the book of Mark to look and see how Jesus, the Son of God, came down to save mankind. Let us know if you have any questions. Through it all, there are miracles, signs, and wonders done by Jesus showing the Glory of God and how He loves us (John 3:16; John 20:30-31). Best of all the Scripture gives us everything God wants us to know pertaining to living life (II Peter 1:2-4). It will equip you for every good work (II Timothy 3:16-17), for understanding Scriptures, and to understand God (Ephesians 5:17) and live spiritually and not fleshly.

As a Christian, you become partakers of the divine nature of God and come to a better understanding of life and why we are here, and what awaits us after this life. If you want to know what divine is, learn about the one who is divine who is God Himself. We must be partakers of this nature by becoming a Christian and following Him.

God doesn't hide Himself but rewards those who diligently seek him. "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6).

Are you ready to know and seek God and know the reason why you are here?

Alan Feaster

Should I hone my skills as an empath?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 02:14:00 +0000

Question:

I wanted to ask some questions about being an empath. Would it be a bad idea to hone my skills? What does the Bible say about empaths? I know it speaks poorly of psychics, so I was wondering what if you were born a natural psychic? (I'm no psychic, just curious.) Also, chakras and auras do not exist, right? I'm confused as to what is right and wrong according to what the Bible says. Thanks again. I'm happy to speak to a pastor (are you a pastor?) seeing that I do not go to church.

Answer:

The Bible uses the word "pastor" for an elder or bishop in the church. I have served as an elder in the past, but I am not currently an elder. What I am is a preacher. (For more details see: Pastors and Preachers.)

What the Bible teaches is that all claims of special powers not from God, such as being a psychic, are false. See Are psychics real? An empath is "(chiefly in science fiction) A person with the paranormal ability to apprehend the mental or emotional state of another individual" [Google Dictionary]. Notice that even in this definition, there is the acknowledgment that the claim is fictional.

Right and wrong are not hard to understand in the Bible. Claiming to be an empath is wrong because it is not true, and lying is wrong. Desiring to be an empath is an attempt to say you have powers beyond other people. That is a form of pride and personal pride is wrong.

If a psychic helps the police, does this make it good?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 23:13:04 +0000

Question:

I have a new friend who asks me if a person is able to help the police with an investigation by some kind of knowledge that will help save a person's life, can that be evil? She argues that it saves people's lives. She says it is dreams or some kind of ESP she does that saves lives, and she believes it's a good thing and of God. I believe it is some kind of demonic influence and a form of acting as a medium. What do you say?

Answer:

You didn't really state what your friend does, but I'm guessing that she pretends to help the police by offering "psychic" readings regarding crimes. As you suspect, God is quite clear that these sorts of things are wrong. "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you" (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).

Your friend is justifying what she wants to do, despite God's statements on the matter, by saying that if good results, then it can't be wrong. In other words, she is saying that the ends justify the means. Paul stated, "And why not say, "Let us do evil that good may come"? --as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just" (Romans 3:8). Evil remains evil regardless of the outcome.

A secondary problem is that your friend is not being honest. She might have had a few lucky guesses, but she is not completely accurate (the truth is that psychics are rarely correct). Thus, in hopes of giving a lucky guess (because these things originate in her own mind), she costs the police many hours of fruitless labor checking out worthless information because they can't afford not to check out everything presented to them.

Are psychics real?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sun, 03 Jul 2005 03:44:48 +0000

Question:

Are psychics real? How about those claiming to have telekinesis and everything related to it? I know that psychic mediums are real, but it is an abomination to the Lord, so we are not allowed to be involved in such things. But what about those psychics? Is it also a sin or did God say anything about it?

Thank you very much.

Answer:

Yes, there are people who claim to be psychics. They fall into two categories: those who purposely set out to deceive others and those who are self-deceived into believing they have special powers of the mind. "But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived" (II Timothy 3:13). There aren't people who have true psychic powers.

Only God has the ability to discern the thoughts of men. In Solomon's prayer to God, he correctly stated, "for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men" (I Kings 8:39). The only person who knows what you are thinking is you. "For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?" (I Corinthians 2:11). The only way that another person can know your thoughts is when you reveal them. This is how psychics operate. They are very good at picking up clues as to what you are thinking. For example, one method is to start with general statements or questions and gage the reaction of the person to those statements. They then can narrow down the topic until it sounds as if they are reading your mind, but all they are doing is reading your body language. Some people get so wrapped up in what a psychic says that they flat out tell the psychic the correct answer. When it is repeated back to them a short while later in another form, the person is flabbergasted. "How did you know that!" They certainly are not going to say, "Well, dummy, you just told me it, in not so many words, a few moments ago." Instead, they will put it down to their special powers.

Psychics thrive because there are a lot of people who want to believe that such powers exist. In speaking of the apostasy, Paul stated, "The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (II Thessalonians 2:9-12). Because people have no love for truth, they are susceptible to lies. But notice that the one deceiving with the power of Satan is using "lying wonders." Only God can perform true miracles. Satan and his followers are limited to trickery.

In Deuteronomy 18:9-12 is a list of condemned practices. The definitions of the Hebrew words for these people are fascinating because they imply falsehoods. For example, the word for "witchcraft" ('anan) means someone who clouds the sight or obscures things; in other words, someone who is practicing deception. The word for a "medium" ('owb) literally means a person who mutters into a bottle (to get that spooky hollow sound). It is the same word used for a ventriloquist, which tells you one of the methods used by these frauds.

A famous psychic, Jeane Dixon, gained fame because she accidentally predicted the date of President John F. Kennedy. I say accidentally because it became popular to publish her predictions and to measure her accuracy -- she never did get another thing right. See "Jeane Dixon and Prophecy" for more information.

No, psychics are not real. They are just well-polished liars using parlor tricks to fool people.